MOVIES
In “A History of Violence,” Tom Stall hopes, after his lightning bolt of confrontation in a diner makes him a hero, to slip back into comfy Midwestern obscurity with wife Edie (Maria Bello) and their kids. But Stall’s dispatch of two bad men brings more bad men to his town. Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) believes he and Stall (Viggo Mortensen) share a brutal past. We hope they don’t. David Cronenberg’s vigorously sublime take on guilt and innocence, the damned and the redeemed is one of the year’s best movies, gleaming with terrific performances. Cronenberg reminds us just how hard a history of violence – even moviedom’s version – is to shake.
–Lisa Kennedy
VISUAL ARTS
Mention the country of Colombia, and certain images immediately come to mind, many of them ugly and negative. The Museo de las Américas, 861 Santa Fe Drive, will attempt to debunk some and address others in a new exhibition titled “Planet Colombia: Deconstructing Stereotypes.” Combining the works of Colombian and American artists, this offering will examine Colombia’s diverse culture and its complicated civil war. It opens with a public reception at 6 p.m. Friday and continues through Jan. 22. 303-571-4401 or museo.org.
–Kyle MacMillan
TELEVISION
Annabella Sciorra and Chris Noth are working partners in NBC’s revamped “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” beginning tonight at 8 on Channel 9. The new team shares the season with the detectives played by Vincent D’Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe. The idea is to lighten the load for the actors while injecting new personalities and tensions into the story.
–Joanne Ostrow
POPULAR MUSIC
The New Pornographers’ latest record “Twin Cinema” is a pop masterwork, an inventive, carefully executed exercise in tactical songwriting. It’s cause to celebrate: For once, the concept of the supergroup (the Pornographers in question are Carl Newman, Neko Case, Dan Bejar and other members of Canada’s inner circle of indie rock royalty) actually works. The New Pornographers play the Gothic Theatre on Monday. –Ricardo Baca
STAGE
In her one-woman show, “Expenses,” Kelly Burke performs excerpts from the writings of Zelda Fitzgerald, a dancer, painter and author who wrote her autobiography while hospitalized for schizophrenia. Long overshadowed as the wife of novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Expenses” considers Zelda on her own terms and explores the price her creativity cost her. This is your only chance to see one of small gems of the season – Burke moves to Boston after Saturday’s closing. Final performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at the Crossroads Theatre, 2180 Stout St. Tickets are $10-$12 (two-for-one Thursday); call 303-296-0212. –John Moore
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Richard Goode ranks among the most revered pianists in the world – an interpreter of exceptional insight, sensitivity and intelligence. As he has grown older, the passion and intensity from his early career remain fully in evidence, accompanied with an even greater depth and maturity. He returns to the Friends of Chamber Music series for an all-Beethoven program at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 East Iliff Ave. The event is sold out, but some returned tickets might be available at the door. Call 303-388-9839, or visit friendsofchambermusic.com. –Kyle MacMillan
NIGHT LIFE
Starting tonight, the party that local night-lifers loved for years when they needed a reggae, dancehall and Jamaican-dub fix returns to downtown Denver. DJs Uplifter and K-Nee have teamed up to relaunch The Yardie Lounge at The Walnut Room, 3131 Walnut St. You can starting feeling irie at 9 p.m. No cover. –Elana Ashanti Jefferson
Pianist Richard Goode plays Wednesday.
